Foxes of Leicester
Fansided

How Leicester can beat champions-elect Manchester City

By Dominic Wells

Leicester City's Brendan Rodgers (L) Manchester City's Pep Guardiola (Photo by CATHERINE IVILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Leicester City's Brendan Rodgers (L) Manchester City's Pep Guardiola (Photo by CATHERINE IVILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Brendan Rogers, Manager of Leicester City (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) /

Regardless, this tactical implementation worked brilliantly. It was a different look to the 3-4-1-2 system that Rodgers has turned to in the absence of Barnes, and unfortunately due to restrictions in the squad, the 3-4-3 formation won’t be possible for the game this weekend (unless adapted with different personnel). Instead, the Foxes manager will have to once again craft a master plan to succeed versus Pep Guardiola – and with a two-week long international break, he could’ve constructed the perfect one – albeit, with the majority of the Leicester City key players being involved internationally.

I’d suggest that Rodgers will opt for the 3-4-1-2 structure, and also utilise the same starting XI that faced Manchester United. However, the usage of both will differ – just because the structure and personnel remain identical doesn’t mean the game plan will follow suit, and I believe Rodgers will attempt to emulate the success/blueprint he found in the 3-4-3/5-4-1 whilst retaining the structure he’s beginning to trust. To manage this, he’ll need to utilise a couple of specific things and adapt others.

One of the first differences between the previous game and the upcoming fixture, is the disparity between the two back three’s. It’s likely that Evans and Söyüncü start the fixture – as they did the last – but Wesley Fofana will replace Amartey as the right-sided centre-back. Ultimately, this is a massive upgrade. Raheem Sterling ordinarily operates as the left-winger for Guardiola, so the additional recovery pace from the Frenchman should nullify that route of attack, whilst his proactive defending could stop attacks at their source – whilst potentially freeing up space behind himself if not careful.

The adaptation will be how Kasper Schmeichel utilises the 19-year-old from goal-kicks. A lesser known side of the original game plan was frequently positioning Amartey in advanced areas to aerially dominate that side of the pitch. It wasn’t exactly an aerial bombardment, but the Foxes definitely profited from the prowess of the Ghanaian in alleviating danger (or removing the need to play short from all goal-kicks). I think Fofana is a capable player in the air, and could comfortably beat Joao Cancelo (left-back) and Sterling (left-winger), but he needs to understand the positioning and purpose of his headers.